The Sens have acquired RW Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for a 2014 1st round draft pick, Jakob Silfverberg and 2011 1st round pick Stefan Noesen. This move provides the Sens with an immediate upgrade as Ryan will replace Silfverberg without losing any other players on the roster.

Bobby Ryan has averaged about 33 goals and 31 assists per 82 games since the 2008-09 season and is only 26 years old. This acquisition gives the Sens a true first line, which is something they have been completely lacking under Paul MacLean. With Michalek being a UFA at the end of next season and Spezza the year after, it's important for the Sens to make an effort to win while their window of opportunity is still open.

Losing Silfverberg is disappointing, but realistically he turns 23 in October and his ceiling is probably that of a good 2nd liner. The Sens already have a ton of depth on the wings, so losing Noesen and a 1st round pick in 2014 don't hurt as much thanks to the excellent drafting and development done by the organization under Bryan Murray.

Losing cheap RFA years to Silfverberg and potential ELC years to Noesen isn't ideal for a small market team, but getting a great player and increasing your team's odds of winning the cup while the window of opportunity is still open is nontheless important.

Here are Bobby Ryan's 5-on-5 stats from stats.hockeyanalysis.com:

Season(s)

Sh%

G/60

Points/60

Shots/60

2012-13

11.25

0.863

2.012

7.666

2011-12

15.15

1.251

2.102

8.259

2010-11

11.94

1.115

2.416

9.338

2009-10

11.67

1.071

1.939

9.183

2008-09

14.52

1.39

2.549

9.577

2007-08

3.85

0.311

1.553

8.077

Ryan's shot rate dropped off a bit from 2010-11 to 2012-13, although that could be due to the small sample size of the lockout and him spending less ice-time with Getzlaf and Perry. Overall he is still a very powerful offensive player at 5-on-5.

The interesting thing here is that Ryan goes from a team who has always had trouble getting shots on goal to one that has had absolutely no trouble in doing so. Another interesting contrast between these two teams is their amount of depth and possession numbers. Anaheim has had very little forward depth over the last few years, and has been an awful possession team, making it harder to give their top players easier minutes and offensive zone starts, unlike Ottawa who were a Top 10 possession team despite the amount of injuries to key players. I guess what I'm trying to say is that with more starts closer to other team's end and more time spent with the puck, alongside Jason Spezza I think Bobby Ryan will have no problem scoring 30+ goals in Ottawa.

Ryan's possession numbers were excellent up until the 2011-12 season when they dropped off, although they could still be considered above average.

Bobby Ryan is also a big guy who can throw huge hits and still manage to consistently draw more penalties than he takes, meaning his physical play isn't coming at the cost of spending a ton of time shorthanded.

Assuming the Sens forward core for 2013-14 is in place, it should look something like this:

Michalek-Spezza-Ryan

MacArthur-Turris-Zibanejad

Conacher-Pageau-Condra

Greening-Smith-Neil

Not bad.

Even though it is a little worrying to see Ryan's stats drop off since the start of the 2011-12 season, he is still a very talented sniper who can play alongside Jason Spezza. At 26 years of age, he still has a lot left in the tank.